1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an engine starter for starting an engine of a personal watercraft, a motorcycle, a four wheeled vehicle, a four wheeled all terrain vehicle, etc.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIG. 3 showing a known engine starter for starting, for example, the engine of a motorcycle, disclosed in JP-A No. 61-283763, a plain bearing 52 is mounted on one end portion of a crankshaft 51 to which a piston 50 is connected, an inner ring 53a included in a cam type overrunning clutch 53 is put on the plane bearing 52, and a driven gear 54 is fastened to the inner ring 53a. A rotary member 57 has a boss 57a fixedly put on the end portion of the crankshaft 51 and a flange 57b fastened to an outer ring 53c included in the overrunning clutch 53.
When starting the engine, a starting motor 56 drives the driven gear 54 for rotation through a gear 55, the rotation of the driven gear 54 is transmitted through the inner ring 53a, a clutch element 53b included in the overrunning clutch 53 and the outer ring 53c to the boss of the rotary member 57 fixedly mounted on the end portion of the crankshaft 51 to drive the crankshaft 51 for rotation in order that the engine is started. Upon the increase of the rotating speed of the crankshaft 51 beyond a disengagement speed after the engine has been started, the overrunning clutch 53 allows the crankshaft 51 to rotate freely, and the driven gear 54 rotates for racing.
A cuplike member 59a is fastened to the rotary member 57 with bolts, and permanent magnets 59b are attached to the inner surface of the side wall of the cuplike member 59a to form a rotor 59 for a generator 58. Coils included in a stator 60 for the generator 58 are attached to a support plate 61, and the support plate 61 is fixed to a cover 62.
The known engine starter comprises a relatively large number of parts, requires much time and labor for assembling, relatively heavy and expensive, because the outer ring 53c of the overrunning clutch 53 is fastened to the rotary member 57, and the driven gear 54 is welded to the outer surface of the inner ring 53a of the same.